


Stubborn Love

by Stephen_Schitz



Category: Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: 1984, Canon Compliant, Cobra Kai - Freeform, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Humor, I Blame Tumblr, Inspired By Tumblr, Light Angst, Movie: The Karate Kid (1984), Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamory, Pre-Poly, Reader-Insert, Romance, Slow Burn, Slow Burn-ish, Somewhat, reader - Freeform, you - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:15:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28853400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stephen_Schitz/pseuds/Stephen_Schitz
Summary: For the past two years after having moved to Encino, you befriend a group of five boys and now you have to deal with them and their unnecessary dramatics.-I found a post on Tumblr by Arianadevareux about Poly!Dating Cobra Kai, and I thought it was too cute to pass up. Soooo, I'll try my best. It's gonna follow the first movie for the most part (the whole tournament thingy), but that's more as a sub-plot than anything later into the story. Will it be canon compliant? eh- loosely.A lot of the places where Karate Kid was filmed are super scattered throughout LA, so lets just imagine that they're closer than they really are o-o
Relationships: Bobby Brown/Reader, Cobra Kai/Reader, Daniel LaRusso/Ali Mills, Dutch/Reader, Jimmy/Reader, Johnny Lawrence/Reader, tommy/reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> At first glance, the place looked legit.

“Hey, mom. I’m heading out okay?” You grab your bag and throw it over your shoulder.

“I want to look around the neighborhood before school starts tomorrow.”

“Just be careful, I don’t want you getting lost.” She called from the kitchen. She decided to unpack that first.

“Okay!” You say walking out the door.

“One more thing!” You hear your mom say before the door shut. “Be home by dinner, we need to unpack quite a few things- a lot of things.”

“Will do, ma’am.”

You made your way towards the bus stop.

-

“Shit, this isn’t where the bakery is.”

Stepping off of the bus, you realize that you got off at the wrong stop. The advertisement you had with you had an address for a new bakery in the Woodland area, you asked a couple of locals for help and one of them wrote down the directions for you on a piece of paper. Even with that, you somehow managed to get lost. In your defense, the person’s handwriting was too slanted for you to understand, so let's not blame yourself on that.

You turn around, taking a good look at the surrounding buildings. There were a couple of shops up and down the main street. Some were restaurants, others were clothing stores, beauty shops, etc. You weren’t sure if you would want to keep looking for the bakery or just hang around here while you’re at it.

As you kept looking around, a building at the corner of the street called your attention. On top of the corner window was a huge painting of a cobra, its hood prominently shown to intimidate those passing by. If it weren’t for how cool it looked, you’d say the person who chose it was probably lacking somewhere. At the sides of the cobra read some words:

‘ _Cobra Kai_.’ You read to yourself. A karate dojo by the looks of it, the word ‘karate’ plastered on the walls outside were very telling. ‘ _I wonder if there’s a class going on right now_.’

You decided that checking out the dojo sounded like a better experience than mindlessly looking for a bakery. If it didn’t get too late, maybe you’d continue looking for it.

Once you cross the street, the grunts and yells inside alert you of an ongoing session. Hopefully you weren’t interrupting anyone by going inside. You pull the door open and step inside, the blast of warm air hits you, definitely a difference in temperature compared to that of outside. It was the beginning of January, winter break was just about to end, and it was not the warmest time of the year. Not to say that it was freezing during the winters of Southern California, but it was for sure chilly when the wind nipped at exposed parts of your skin. The chanting became louder once you stepped inside. There was still a divider between the lobby and the main dojo. At first glance, the place looked legit. On the wall facing the entrance you notice a lot of framed photos, trophies littered around a corner and a wall of the lobby. There was an older man in the photos, not quite old, but not completely young either. He seemed to be in his late 20s early 30s in some of the photos. There was one of him holding a gun, posing threateningly.

‘ _War vet_.’ You noted.

As you followed the wall of acknowledgements and awards, the cries you heard outside became clearer, the muffled words decipherable.

“Fear does not exist in this dojo, does it?”

“No, sensei!”

“Pain does not exist in this dojo, does it?”

“No, sensei!”

“Defeat does not exist in this dojo, does it?”

“No, sensei!”

‘ _Creepy_.’ you thought to yourself. What was this? A dojo or a freaking boot camp?

You found yourself facing the class of teenage boys. They were facing opposite to you, their backs being the only thing you could see. They wore all white uniforms, the same cobra from outside the dojo was printed onto the white fabric. The only difference between them were the different colored belts they wore. A tall blonde man, perhaps in his late 30s wore a black uniform in contrast to his students. He weaved himself fluidly between each student, his walk was confident and steady as he strode through them. His eyes were calculating and cold, yet they shone with a kind of brightness that you could only guess was pride in what he did.

You walked towards the bench that was right beside the entrance to the dojo, and took a seat without ever looking away from the group.

It was oddly mesmerizing how they performed the cries with each strike. It had been so long since you had seen a karate class with such passion and ferocity. You weren’t aware of a presence approaching you until you felt a shadow loom over you. The man in the black gi had approached you, he was looking at you with his hands tucked underneath his belt. Quickly, you got up from the bench and bowed, showing him your respect as you had entered his dojo. He raised his eyebrows, shocked at your greeting. You hadn’t expected it, but his lips turned up, barely a smile. He bowed too.

“What brings you to Cobra Kai?”

The students in the dojo kept at their warm-ups, their cries burying some of your thoughts.

“I was trying to familiarize myself with the area, but got lost. That’s when I stumbled upon here.” You recounted your failure to find the bakery. “It’s been a while since I’ve entered a real karate dojo and I wanted to check it out, I hope I’m not interrupting class.”

“You’re not interrupting at all. You’re welcome to stay and watch.” He said, nodding his chin to his students for acknowledgement, then looked back to you. “You said that it’s been a while since you’ve last entered a karate dojo?”

“Yes, sir.” You look up at him. “My dad was once a karate instructor. He had a studio back in his hometown. When he and my mom had me, and I was old enough, he would let me watch his classes.”

His ears seemed to have perked up with interest. “Did you ever partake in any of his classes?”

You shake your head. “I only liked to watch. Eventually I memorized some stances, blocking techniques, the simple stuff from all the watching I did, but I never tried them out.”

“Well, if you ever decide that you want to pick it up sometime I always have a spot open for a new student.” You weren’t sure why you felt odd after he gave you the offer. Maybe it was the fact that his motto contained ‘no mercy’ in it, that made you think twice. You concealed a shiver that ran down your spine.

“I’ll think about it.”

He gave you a short nod before stating that he had to get back to his students. You gave him a bow and returned to the bench. He returned it and walked away.

-

As the class neared its end, you checked your watch and saw it was nearly six in the evening. The sun was still shining, but you didn’t want to catch a ride on the bus as the daylight dimmed, so you decided to excuse yourself. You decided to give the place a final glance before you left, however when you got up you found your eyes locking onto someone else's. They were a beautiful shade of blue, you thought to yourself. You were a distance away from them, but you wish you had a closer look at them. Realizing that you were staring a little too long, you quickly looked away (not without noticing that the boy whose eyes they belonged to had smirked).

Luck, not on your side, had you lock eyes with someone else. They were different from the blonde’s, which instead of a piercing blue, they were a warm shade of brown perhaps lighter with a hint of green, but you couldn’t quite tell from where you stood. He offered a warm smile. You felt your cheeks grow warm, you realize that both their beds of hair seemed to glow with the rays pouring into the dojo.

Okay-

No-

You had to get out of there.

Before you turned to leave however, three more of the students had caught your eye. Reasons? Unknown, but they had. You drew your eyes back towards the exit.

You wonder if you’ll ever decide to come back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So, Y/N, do you have any plans for lunch?”

“Hey, weren’t you the Betty at the dojo yesterday?”

A voice rang from beside you. You close your locker door slightly to see the same blonde from yesterday, the same one who you had locked eyes with first. He was leaning against the locker next to yours, his arm occupied by a couple of textbooks, math textbooks by the looks of it. For a second you weren’t aware that he had called you a Betty, but when the realization kicked in you felt your cheeks flare a little. 

You took out your folder from inside and closed the door. “You remember me? I was only in there for a couple of minutes.”

You were hoping that he wouldn’t comment about the little moment before you left.

He smiled at you, the sun hitting his eyes just enough to show you how beautiful of a blue his eyes really were. Now that you were closer to him you could see the array of different blues in them. 

“Well, I was able to run the guys a whole warm up session, so you were there for about 20 minutes. I would also say that being in our dojo for almost the whole class was not, in fact, a couple of minutes. About an hour and a half maybe” He shifted to straighten himself to his full height, no longer leaning on the locker. “The name’s Johnny by the way.”

He extends his hand out to you, the same playful smile plastered on his face again. You shake his hand, returning a smile too.

“Y/N.” 

“Well, Y/N, how about I walk you to your class? Who do you have next?”

You took out a folded piece of paper from between the pages of a notebook. The schedule in your hands had been printed just this morning, and as simple as the school looked, you had already gotten lost twice trying to find your first two classes. You read over the text and glanced up at the blonde. 

“It says I have chemistry next. Mrs… Randell?” 

“Oh I was hoping to have you next class.” He playfully pouted his lip, earning a soft chuckle from you. “I just had her class, c’mon I’ll walk you.”

It didn’t take long for the two of you to find it, her class was close to your last one, but knowing you, you would’ve gotten lost the second you turned a corner. Some mild conversation happened between the two of you. He asked you simple things any curious student would ask about, questions like where you used to live prior to moving to Encino and why the move. You asked him more about the dojo. Once you reached Mrs. Randell’s class, Johnny stopped and motioned inside. 

“Here’s Mrs. Randall’s class. Anyways, I gotta go now, I have Algebra with Mr. Trolley.” He rolled his eyes playfully then gave you another smile as he waved goodbye. You waved back.

While entering the class you heard some guys laughing and making a ruckus outside, but decided to ignore them since you weren’t knowledge-full of the posses yet. Instead, you hoped to find the teacher, a middle aged woman who, by the looks of it, was a big lover of bad chemistry puns and colorful posters.

Your mom didn’t plan on moving in the middle of the school year, but she told you that her job needed her to move to a new department. So that left you awkwardly having to start a new semester at a new school with no friends. Great. 

The teacher points at a desk and tells you to sit there as they had been assigned last semester.

As you take your seat, you see a stampede of guys run across the door, laughing over something once again. The flurry of brown and blonde heads ran back for a second, pushed a guy through the door and ran away again. It was only a split second, but you were able to see that one of them had been Johnny. You could hear someone else outside, an adult’s voice this time, yell at (who you could only assume was towards) the group of boys. 

“No running in the hallways!” 

_ Lunatics _ . You thought to yourself. You weren’t aware of it, but a small smile crept onto your face. The boys at your school weren’t anything like the ones here, but maybe that’s because you had attended a small conservative school back in your hometown.

The boy who was dropped into the classroom waved at a couple of the other students inside before making his way over to you. You were taking a pencil out of your pouch when you looked up to meet his eyes… for the second time. 

“It’s you.”

“It’s you!”

The same hazel eyes from yesterday were looking at yours, you had seen them at the dojo yesterday after having locked yours with Johnny’s. 

The boy sat down next to you, extending his hand out to shake. “My name’s Bobby. Bobby Brown.” 

“Y/N. Y/N L/N.” You shake his hand. “It’s nice to put a name to those hazel eyes.”

He smiled at the comment and began taking out a notebook from his bag. You do the same and open it to a brand new page. 

“You’re new, right?” He whispered over to you just as Mrs. Randall tried to hush the class. “Welcome to West Valley.”

-

Halfway through the class, he turned his head to face yours. Mrs. Randall had given partner work to do so luckily you didn’t have to whisper a conversation with him. You were beginning to think that she assigned partner work because it was your first day and wanted you to socialize with your partner. Hey, you couldn’t hate her for it. 

“I’m stuck on number 3, think you can explain it to me?” You asked, unknowingly tapping the pencil on your lip. 

He leans over slightly to read over your paper, he looks back at his, then back at yours. “Did you check that you balanced all the elements?”

“Yeah, I did that right here.” You point at the element oxygen. 

“On both sides?” 

You blink slowly, reading over the paper. Ah shit. 

You hiss inside your mind, chemistry was never your strong suit, but you weren’t terrible at it either. It wasn’t your fault that your brain decided to skim over some parts of the equation, like it had just done by forgetting to multiply more oxygen. 

Bobby chuckled a bit at your hurried erasing. You smirk to yourself and decide to get even. 

“Number 7 should be 3 not 12, it’s easily divisible here.” You said, tapping at the problem with the end of your pencil.

“Huh?” He looks down at his own paper and reads it over. His hair bounces a bit as he shakes his head. 

The two of you continue to find mistakes in each other's papers, but not without helping each other before pointing out the next. Before you knew it, the bell rang and everyone had already begun to pack their things away. You remember that it’s your first day at the high school and you hadn’t made any prominent friends to sit next with at lunch. That was just peachy, either you were going to sit alone at a table, or you were going to have to find a random group of people to sit with. 

Bobby seemed to have read your mind. He had already put everything away in his bag when he cleared his throat to catch your attention. “So, Y/N, do you have any plans for lunch?”

You turned to face him, your hands still putting papers away into your folder. 

Shit. What do you say? Do you sound pathetic and say no, or do you lie and then suffer awkwardness when he finds you sitting alone. Before you could answer, he butts in again.

“If you’d like, you could come and sit at our table. I mean, it’s just me and a couple of my friends. They’re a part of the dojo too.” He prepares for his next set of words by examining your expression. “They can be a little much, but you don’t have to talk to them, just sit with us in the meantime.”

You could feel yourself melt at his care. It was nice though, now you didn’t have to worry about it, but you did become curious. You wonder who of the boys you saw at the dojo were his friends. Were his friends the group of guys you saw run in the hallway earlier? 

It surprised you just how many of the students you saw yesterday attend West Valley. 

Guess you wouldn’t escape the martial arts scene as easily as you thought. 

-

You both approach the rectangular table situated at the front of the cafeteria. It was loud inside the cafeteria, not abnormally loud, but something typical you would find in the high school scene. Your stomach twisted itself in knots at the idea of sitting at a table with new people, maybe it was the fact that they were the same people you had seen yesterday at the dojo. 

“Guys, this is Y/N. She’s new here, so please be nice.” Bobby said as he introduced you. The boys sitting at the table turned their heads to see you. He motioned for you to sit as he sat to your left, giving you enough space to not feel crowded. 

He points at a brown haired boy sitting across the table from him. “This is Jimmy. He’s kind of quiet, but he’s funny when you get to know him.” 

Jimmy waves at you, a smile brushing his features.

Bobby then moves his pointer finger to the person sitting across from you. “The guy in front of you’s Tommy. He’s the complete opposite of Jimmy, super loud.”

“Hey! I’ll let you know that I can totally be quiet.” Tommy retorts.

The person to your right laughs at that, their laugh shaking their frame, the movement causing their shoulder to brush against yours. “Yeah, like hell you can.”

“And that there is Dutch.”

You turn to look at him, tilting your head up just a bit, you were greeted with steeley brown eyes and a bed of bright blonde hair. 

“Sup.” Was all he said with a sharp nod. A split second later, his eyes shone as recognition hit him.

Before he could open his mouth to say more, the boy in front of you cut him off. His soft brown eyes greeted yours with a smile as he popped a fry into his mouth. “So what brings you to the great ol’ West Valley High?” 

You remembered his name being Tommy, Bobby having just introduced him to you. Good, you could at least remember one more person’s name.

“My mom had to change departments at the company she works at. There was a position open here in Encino and she took it without much thou ht.” You tell them part of the story, dipping a fry into some ketchup. “Which is why I transferred mid year. Didn’t want to be held back a year for credits so whatever.”

“Oh, hey! The Betty’s back.” A familiar voice sounded from behind you. You turn in your seat and are greeted with bright blue eyes again for what seems to be the millionth time this day. 

“The name’s Y/N, Johnny.” You tell him as an idea pops into your head. “Don’t go giving me ideas for nicknames, tut.” 

“You’ve met already?” Bobby asks.

“Yeah, I walked her to Mrs. Randall’s class.” Johnny turns the corner of the table and sits across from Dutch. “Oh you have that class, right?”

Bobby gave a short laugh. “You remember that after you unceremoniously pushed me inside her class.”

Dutch finally has his window of opportunity and asks you. “So what were you doing at Cobra Kai yesterday?”

That seems to catch all of the boys’ attention and soon enough everyone’s eyes are on you. Well, shit. You didn’t think they would have paid attention to you. Nonchalantly, you pour some ketchup onto your plate of fries. 

“I got lost yesterday trying to find a bakery that was being advertised on the newspaper.” You told them. “I got off at the wrong bus stop, I guess and saw the karate dojo. It kind of caught my attention.”

“And it seems like you caught our sensei’s attention, too.” Johnny chimed in. 

“Huh? Really?” You ask incredulously.

All the boys nod their heads nearly at the same time. 

“Yeah, he typically never pays attention to visitors.” Bobby says. “Especially not a girl either. No offense- he must’ve seen something in you, however.”

You shiver at the thought. 

“I mean, you look pretty ordinary. Pretty, but ordinary.” Tommy tries to justify.

Johnny smacks Tommy from beneath the table. You could assume he was trying to be discreet, but that didn’t really work. Especially when Tommy shoots him a glare as he rubs on the spot of contact. 

“Your sensei’s pretty intimidating.” You say truthfully, remembering the lines they had repeated yesterday while training. “But I guess that’s what comes from serving in a war.” 

“Yeah, that’s our sensei for you.” Jimmy quickly chips in. 

“Are you going back today?” Johnny asks. You glance up to see him, his blue eyes hiding just behind a curtain of blonde hair. They shine a bit, you notice, as he waits for your response.

You chuckle. “Well that depends if I get off at the wrong bus stop again.”

That earns a laugh from them. 

“Well it would be nice if you could come see us, again. It’s fine if you decide not to.”

“I’ll think about it.”

You take a quick look around as the boys settle into their usual chatter. Something about hanging around with them seemed to click inside you. If they asked you to hang out with them after today, could you find yourself saying no? Probably not. You were already having trouble deciding whether or not to see them at their class already, so you sit in silence, laughing whenever one of them tells a funny story. You pop another fry into your mouth. West Valley doesn’t seem so lonely after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already messed up the format last chapter, but hopefully I can get it fixed soon.


End file.
